Super Mario II? Casserly envisions bright future for Aldon

But former Texans general manager Charley Casserly sees a common thread between his controversial selection of defensive end Mario Williams (and not Reggie Bush) as the No. 1 pick in the 2006 draft and the 49ers’ selection of Aldon Smith as the No. 7 pick in April.

Both Casserly and Niners general manager Trent Baalke took heat for the picks, but Casserly believes they both drafted an elite pass-rusher.

“I think at the end of the day, the end result is that Mario went to the Pro Bowl and this guy should go to the Pro Bowl,” said Casserly, now a CBS Sports analyst.

Williams, who is out for the season with a torn pectoral muscle, is a two-time Pro Bowler who had 43.5 sacks from 2007-10. Smith, widely viewed as at least a slight reach with the No. 7 pick, has all of his 5.5 sacks in his past three games and is on pace to become the first Niner to post a double-digit sack total since Andre Carter had 12.5 in 2002.

Smith, listed as a outside linebacker in the 49ers’ 3-4 defense, has played almost exclusively defensive end in San Francisco’s nickel and dime packages. There have been questions about Smith’s ability to drop back into coverage as a linebacker and keep up with running backs and tight ends, but Casserly says those concerns are overblown.

Williams, who moved from defensive end to outside linebacker when the Texans shifted to a 3-4 this season, wasn’t doing much backpedaling before his injury, Casserly noted. And Smith, whenever he settles in at linebacker, will also be playing to his considerable strengths.

“I would think that Aldon Smith is going to spend almost all his time going forward and not a lot of time in coverage,” Casserly said. “…You didn’t draft this guy to go back and cover people. You drafted him to get to the quarterback.”

* More from Casserly on Williams (6-foot-6, 283 pounds) and Smith (6-4, 258).

“I think Mario is probably a stronger guy at the point of attack,” Casserly said. “Smith is probably a better inside rusher, when you move him down. Not that you would do that very often, but he was very good at that when I saw him in college. I think Smith is probably a little bit more athletic, a little bit more fluid in his hips than Mario. Still, Mario, now you that watch him play up (as a linebacker), has proven that he’s kind of a freak athlete for 6-7, 280, 290.”